Relative, roommate in custody for Murrells Inlet murder

MURRELLS INLET, SC (WMBF) - Two Horry County men are in custody in connection to the stabbing death of 44-year-old Christopher Nance in the Murrells Inlet area Tuesday.

Sgt. Robert Kegler, spokesman for the Horry County Police Department, told WMBF News that the homicide occurred around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday morning on Van Buren Drive, just off Highway 17 in Murrells Inlet.

Kegler said Nance was found with multiple stab wounds.

Horry County Chief Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard says Mr. Nance was found outside of his home on Van Buren Drive. Coroner Willard adds that an autopsy has been scheduled to confirm his cause of death.

The Violent Crimes Detectives responded to the scene, and their investigation led them to identify two suspects - a family member and a roommate of the victim - both participating in the homicide and disposing on the weapon they used in the ocean, Kegler comments.

The suspects, 24-year-old Dustin Clifford Autry and 25-year-old Joshua Cody Wilson both of Murrells Inlet, were booked into J. Reuben Long Detention Center. Their charges in connection with the homicide are still pending.

Friends told WMBF News that Nance was a good person who will be missed very much.

"There really wasn't a time we didn't know each other growing up," Russell Vereen said.

Vereen said Chris Nance's family has been a part of the community for decades, and have some responsibility for the community's success.

"I would like people to remember that these were actually some of the people that built Murrells Inlet to what it is, a fishing village today," Vereen said, "I hate it for Chris. He certainly didn't deserve this and his family certainly didn't deserve to deal with it either. It's a real shame and I feel so badly for them."

Stick with WMBF News to bring you the late-breaking details as this story develops.